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Uneasy tensions in energy justice and systems transformation

Nature Energy (2023)Cite this article

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Differences in the approach to community acceptance of energy technologies can muddy visions of energy futures. Acknowledgement of the tensions around justice perspectives and the degree of desired change can improve scholarship and policy dialogue.

A widespread transition to less carbon-intensive sources of energy depends heavily on the acceptance of communities that use or host energy infrastructure (for example, on- and offshore wind turbines, solar panels, and transmission lines). Over the past thirty years, energy scholars have studied the factors that influence community acceptance, producing an extensive literature on the subject (Table 1). More recently, another stream of literature has emerged, confronting how energy systems contribute to or erode various aspects of justice. Scholars from different disciplines drive these two literatures, and they focus on key concepts that are sometimes complementary and sometimes in conflict.

Table 1 Community acceptance and energy justice literatures
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Fig. 1: Visualizing a typology of energy systems change and perspectives on justice.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Marine Affairs, University of Rhode Island, Kingston, RI, USA

    David Bidwell

  2. Center for Energy Technologies, Department of Business Development and Technology, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark

    Benjamin K. Sovacool

  3. Science Policy Research Unit (SPRU), University of Sussex Business School, Falmer, Brighton, UK

    Benjamin K. Sovacool

  4. Department of Earth and Environment, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

    Benjamin K. Sovacool

  5. Institute for Global Sustainability, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA

    Benjamin K. Sovacool

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  1. David Bidwell
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Correspondence to David Bidwell.

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Bidwell, D., Sovacool, B.K. Uneasy tensions in energy justice and systems transformation. Nat Energy (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41560-023-01217-8

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